This summer 12 Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors & Ambassadors traveled across the country to explore the American Southwest with Girl Scout staff and volunteers. They visited five states, six National Parks, hiked 30 miles, slept at five different campsites and made countless memories and overcame obstacles. Read how Hayley overcame her own personal challenge on the trip!

June 1st through June 8th I went on a Southwest excursion where we went to national parks in each state of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. We went on multiple hikes that had few challenges along the way but were very worth it. As we saw what I would say is some of the most beautiful sites in my life.

One of my favorite sites I got to see was at  Arches National Park, were we got the opportunity to see Delicate Arch. I was told that it was a hard hike but had the most beautiful site and so I took the challenge because not only did I want to see the site but I wanted to be able to say I made the hike. However it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be for the hike was long and was basically made up of an uphill that was huge. When we had started I was trying to motivate myself but I’m not going to lie it was kind of hard for I felt I couldn’t breathe. It made sense because I have asthma so that didn’t make things any easier, but I still really tried to make it but I just couldn’t. I got up a little of the uphill until I told myself I couldn’t do it. I had felt hopeless as I saw the other girls in the group walk up the hill because I knew they were much better than me. As I sat there watching everyone walk past a girl name Adele sat near me she also had challenges. I almost felt a little comfort because I guess it wasn’t just me that was alone facing a challenge.

My group leader M.C. was talking to me. It was pretty much small talk at first but then she started motivating me and Adele she actually believed we could do it. It was inspiring to see that she actually had belief in us.

So we decided as a small group to keep going and face every challenge not alone but together. So we set goals for ourselves as we would go to whatever we thought was a good place to stop and take a break, but with that we would go to shrubs or cracks in the canyon and name those things as we took a break. We thought it was a fun way to waste time and to my shock once I knew it we were already over the huge hill I thought was impossible to get up. I was proud of myself I was just so happy I could do it, it’s a great accomplishment to me.

We passed the other group that had gone up before us as they were going down and that’s when I finally got it realize I can do it and it’s not a matter of who’s better than who cause we all only go at our own pace. When we finally got to delicate arch I was so excited and I finally gained a little reassurance in myself. So if it wasn’t for M.C or Adele I don’t think I would of made it so I’m so glad we were all there.

This hike overall means so much to me for it was teamwork that made it work. It was so worth it because of the challenges that made it so I guess exciting and then when you finally get to your destination you feel great. I just want to thank everyone on that trip because I got to experience things beyond this world and it was amazing. I would 10/10 do this all over again cause that’s just how worth it, it was.

Our next Outdoor Excursion is to Rocky Mountain National Park from July 26 – August 1, 2020 and registration will open in October. Don’t miss the chance to overcome your own personal obstacles and feel on top of the world!

by Joy Wheeler, CEO, Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri

It’s time for the Girl Scouts to put a stake in the ground. That stake marks a future where girls and women – who represent 51% of our population – become the solution to the serious workforce challenges that are weighing down our economy. A future where the gender gaps in pay, socioeconomic status, funding and power no longer exist.

You probably realize that we’re pretty far from that future right now. But I want you to know today that the Girl Scouts are driving us there. We’re preparing Kindergarten – 12^th-grade girls for a lifetime of leadership and workforce impact. And we need your help to succeed. We need you to join us in Standing Up for G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders).

Imagine an equitable future
Take a few minutes and imagine with me what is possible. Picture a world where the United States is the definitive leader in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – precisely because we have learned to harness the power of all people to lead in those jobs, regardless of gender. Consider how your business could excel if you had access to a complete, well-trained and flexible pipeline of workers at all times. What would it be like if Capitol Hill, our board rooms and our leadership teams reflected the gender balance of our adult population?

Now, just think about the possibilities for our country if every child had the opportunity to succeed. What would happen if girls had the same socioeconomic, mental and physical health status as boys? And how would it affect our economy and our social programs if women received the same pay as men doing similar work?

You would like that, wouldn’t you? I mean, who wouldn’t?

We have a long way to go
There’s no disputing we are quite far from achieving that vision of the future. And it seems like we’re actually going backward right now. The U.S. can’t fill the increasing demand for STEM workers – not with men and not with women. And is it any wonder? We know that more than 80 percent of young girls are interested in STEM jobs, but only 13 percent push through the gender bias and pursue this career path. The Smithsonian estimated that 2.4 million STEM jobs would go unfilled last year.

And women are hugely under-represented in government: Around a quarter of state and federal legislators are women. Women hold only 20 percent of corporate board seats. And only 6 percent of CEOs are female.

With that level of representation, is it any wonder that the health and socioeconomic status of girls is lagging, too? Sadly, our Girl Scout research tells us more girls are living in poverty today than they were 10 years ago. And at the current rate of change, the gender pay gap – with women earning just 80 cents for every dollar made by men – isn’t expected to close for another 90 years. Fully two-thirds of minimum wage jobs in the U.S. are held by women.

Girl Scouts can get us there
Clearly, women can be the solution to these social and economic gaps. And Girl Scouts are a key contributor to the 51% solution. The Girl Scouts bring 100+ years of experience and a research-based approach to providing topnotch, innovative programming in financial literacy, STEM, healthy living, environmental stewardship and global citizenship, delivered in the way girls learn best. We are preparing girls for a lifetime of leadership – ensuring women have a voice in all settings that is commensurate with their 51% stake.

Our programs connect girls with female role models in their communities. They immerse young women in a wide variety of opportunities and experiences so they can pursue their full potential. And they challenge girls to the highest standard of achievement through the Gold Award.

The path of a young girl to teenager largely defines the path of the next generation. Will she become a pregnant teenager, leading to a lack of education, hopelessness and economic instability? Or will she become a woman who is supported and nurtured to have the courage and confidence that comes from enriched experiences and education? A woman who knows her worth and is prepared to reject domestic violence and pursue equity? By changing a girl’s confidence to pursue opportunities and reach her full potential, we decrease the demand for social and rehabilitative services. We drive more leadership for female equality, representation and inclusion. In short, we expand the potential for success among everyone in our society – all genders, all ages, all socioeconomic strata.

Single-gender learning is the right thing to do
So let’s address the elephant in the room – the Boy Scouts’ attempt to add girls to their programming. On the surface it sounds kind and equitable, right? We should allow girls to have the same experiences as boys. But let’s be real for a moment. Most of us can agree that boys and girls are different. While they deserve equitable opportunities, pursuing those together doesn’t always make sense.

Our research bears this out. Girls who attend single-gender schools have measurably higher academic success. Did you know a girl will generally lose 30 percent of her confidence between age 8 and 14? The single-gender learning environment provided by the Girl Scouts gives her a safe space to explore, step out of her comfort zone, take risks and become a leader. Her courage, confidence and character grow as she pursues outdoor adventure, entrepreneurship, STEM and civic engagement activities.

Girl Scouts are THE KEY to increasing STEM staffing and leadership
Here again, research underscores the role of the Girl Scouts in helping girls lead the way. Among female tech leaders, an astonishing 80 percent are Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts are twice as likely to be interested in STEM careers. That’s why Girl Scouting provides STEM programming to girls from kindergarten to age 18. We are committed to adding 2.5 million girls to the STEM pipeline by 2025.

Girl Scouts are more successful overall
It’s not just about STEM, though. The Girl Scouting program produces concrete outcomes in almost every measure of success. If you’re a Girl Scout: 

• Your sense of self, community involvement and confidence in the future is going up during middle school, while your peers are declining in confidence.   
• You are twice as likely to have a bachelor’s degree.
• You earn 23 percent more than other women.
• You’re more likely to engage in a variety of fun and challenging activities, have supportive relationships and be an active learner.

Adding to that, if you’re a Gold Award Girl Scout – representing five percent of the 50 million alums in the U.S. – you’re more successful, engaged and happy as a worker. And you have more positive life outcomes – measured by volunteerism, community and civic engagement, education level and socioeconomic status.

Girl Scouting fuels civic and business leadership
If you’re wondering whether Girl Scouts make a meaningful difference in achieving that future we discussed earlier, consider this: In 2018, 58 percent of women elected to Congress were Girl Scouts, and nearly three-quarters of women in the Senate are alums. Five of the current nine female state governors are Girl Scouts. And every female secretary of state has been a Girl Scout. It’s clear that Girl Scouts builds leaders who make a lasting impact on their communities.

Girl Scouts are well represented in business, too, with 66 percent of professional women and more than half of female entrepreneurs and business owners being alums. And you thought it was all about cookies!

The power of Girl Scouts goes beyond skill-building                                                              
I’d like to share a story with you that helps illustrate the tremendous impact our program can have on a girl’s life. Paige Taylor has experienced mental illness in her family and has been struggling with depression and anxiety herself since age 10. The high school senior from Lansing, Kansas, has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. She calls her girl squad her “safe place” to share and says her sister Girl Scouts are her real sisters. The confidence Paige has gained through Girl Scouts has allowed her to achieve a level of success she otherwise wouldn’t have dreamed of. She recently completed her Gold Award, where she bravely shared her personal story, opened a door for other teens to share their stories, got school officials to acknowledge the statistics and add more resources, and stood with the Kansas governor who signed a state-wide proclamation. Paige plans to pursue sports psychology and counseling when she attends college next fall. When we asked what gave her the courage and confidence to break away from the stigma and challenges of mental illness, Paige gave Girl Scouts the credit: “Without Girl Scouts, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I know my voice matters and I’m empowered to continue to use it as I pursue my dreams.” Now, that’s the kind of difference we can make!

Why your support is critical right now
The value of Girl Scouts and the essential role of our contributions to solving these issues is clear. Now, more than ever, we need your help – your money, your influence and your passion.

Funding: Cookie sales make the Girl Scout experience memorable. The program supports girls to grow their financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills as it builds their confidence. But how many other organizations require their beneficiaries to fund their own services by the sweat of their brows? We need your private funding, too. Based on the latest reports available, Girl Scouts received just half the private funding of Boy Scouts, while serving approximately the same number of youth.  

Influence: We’re asking you to talk about the Girl Scouts. Use your connections to bring us to the table to represent girls and all the potential they bring to EVERY discussion about workforce development, economic equality and diversity.

Daily Advocacy: We are asking you to use your power to advocate for girls and women everywhere. If you’ve participated in Girl Scouts or have Girl Scouts in your family, you ARE Girl Scouts! Yes, gentlemen, even you. Are you Man Enough to be a Girl Scout? We want you to wear the Girl Scout identity and do things like follow and share the powerful stories of our Girl Scouts locally and beyond.

The only way we’re going to bring this solution to life is by proactively championing girls and women in our everyday lives – giving them a seat at the table and Standing up for G.I.R.L.s.   Advocating isn’t enough – we need you to be their champions – when they’re in the room and when they’re not. Because there’s something missing today – that’s the other 51%. None of us is as powerful as all of us!

The Lela Mae Girl Scout Adventure Fund!

Girl Scout leaders are inspirations for the girls in their troops and create a lifetime of memories. For Karen Ebert, and all the girls in her troop, that inspirational leader was Lela Mae Knipp. Not only was Lela Mae a fantastic troop leader who pushed the girls to be the very best versions of themselves, she stayed involved in Girl Scouting for more than 60 years! Karen was a Girl Scout in the early 1960s, a time when women were not always encouraged to dream big about their careers – but Lela Mae gave them that confidence through Girl Scouting! This lasting legacy of service and supporting generations of girls inspired Karen to do something incredible – invest in the future of girls in Lela Mae’s name.

For Karen Ebert, creating a fund for Girl Scouts that will leave a legacy was the best way to honor Lela Mae. “I believe leaving a legacy is important. As a Girl Scout alum, I wanted to give back to the organization that meant so much to me,” Karen says. To honor Lela Mae’s 60 years of volunteer service, Karen set-up the Lela Mae Girl Scout Adventure Fund in 2018 at the West Region Volunteer Celebration. This fund will provide financial support to girls in Westmoreland and throughout Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee Counties so they experience incredible adventures in Girl Scouting.

As a girl, Karen remembers Lela Mae’s generosity and the courage she instilled in her. “To Lela Mae, every girl was unique and special,” Karen said. One memory Karen has of this generosity happened when she was selling cookies to raise money for camp. “I took my money from my cookie sales to Lela Mae, and she said to me ‘oh you are so close, but you are short $14.’ My heart sank and I know she saw that. Later that night, she called to say she ‘miscounted’ and I had just enough to go to camp. I will always think she had something to do with me having ‘just enough,’” Karen said.

With all these amazing memories and life skills that Karen learned from Girl Scouting, she wanted to make sure today’s girls have access to the same opportunities she did. “If people look back at the experience they have in Girl Scouting, I think they would want every girl to have that experience. As adults, I hope we all want to give to the future,” Karen said. Thank you, Karen, for investing and honoring Lela Mae!

In March 2019, Lela Mae celebrated her 95^th birthday, and Karen Ebert and the Knipp family created a shower of gifts to help local Girl Scouts by donating to the fund, and you can still make a gift as well! A gift of any size to the Lela Mae Girl Scout Adventure Fund in honor of her birthday can be made by via www.gsksmo.org/donate. Thank you to Karen Ebert for establishing this fund to honor an amazing Girl Scout!

What a truly inspiring day we had on April 7 at the Overland Park Convention Center! Girl Scouts, volunteers, alums and supporters joined us to celebrate our 47 Gold Award Girl Scouts!

These young women have made an extraordinary impact on their communities through the Gold Award. Each Girl Scout completed a Take Action project with a minimum of 85 hours in planning and implementation. They have created lasting change through sustainable projects and their impact will be felt for years to come.  Their Take Action projects included educating youth to vote, building a vegetable garden for families with food insecurity, education programs on mental health and music programs for students with special needs,  just to name a few. Read about all of their projects here!

2019 Gold Award Girl Scouts

We kicked off the day with a special breakfast for Gold Award Girl Scouts and program investors, hosted by GSKSMO CEO Joy Wheeler.  Each Gold Award Girl Scout received her very own Kendra Scott necklace, courtesy of GSKSMO board members and Kendra Scott.

To encourage Girl Scouts to take action, inspire others and change the world, they visited a combination of Community Partner and GSKSMO Program booths, to collect focus area stickers, building the foundation of their path to Gold! Activities included “Throw like a G.I.R.L.” where Girl Scouts mastered the bullseye with Blade & Timber Axe Throwing, decorating enrichment items for the animals at the Kansas City Zoo, seeing how liquid nitrogen acts as a cooling agent with Honeywell and learning the power of code with Microsoft! Upstairs Girl Scouts visited Bronze and Silver Award Girl Scouts, collecting their respective sticker!  They completed their activity card by visiting with at least four Gold Award Girl Scouts and earned their Inspire a Girl patch!

Our very special guest, Gold Award Alum and Miss Kansas USA, Alyssa Klinzing joined in on the expo fun and helped Girl Scouts declare themselves a G.I.R.L. by hosting a special photo op with future Gold Award Girl Scouts!

Alyssa also moderated the newest addition to Inspire a Girl, the Gold Award Alum panel with Skylar Clark, Taylor Edwards and Jolly Patro. Girl Scout Juniors and older were invited to hear from these outstanding women on all things Gold Award. From how they got their project started to how it’s played a role in their future life plans!

Also new this year, we celebrated our 2019 Volunteer Honorees in a special VIP Lounge where they received their award and networked with other outstanding volunteers! Every day our volunteers make fun, friendship, and awesome new experiences possible for girls. They support our G.I.R.L.s (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader) every step of the way!

This extraordinary day culminated with our Gold Award Ceremony where Girl Scouts officially received their Gold Award Pin.

The Beth Winters Memorial Scholarship was presented to Skylar Clark and Morgan Neal.

Gold Award Girl Scouts Taylor Edwards and Logan Rader were presented with the newest Girl Scout scholarship, The Spirit Scholarship. This scholarship was established by Gold Award & Lifetime Girl Scout Connie Ehrlich Davis, in memory of her parents. It is in the “spirit” of the Ehrlichs’ wisdom that this scholarship is awarded to girls who demonstrate academic excellence and uphold the highest ideals of Girl Scouting.

The ceremony was keynoted by Missouri Senator and GSKSMO Board Member Lauren Arthur, who shared her story on how to reach “From Green to Gold: How Leaders are Born.” Senator Arthur shared her inspirational message to Girl Scouts encouraged them to implement what they learn through Girl Scouts and continue to be leaders and go-getters in their community.

As Dr. Seuss so greatly said, “Congratulations, today is your day. You’re off to great places! You’re off and away!”

See all the photos from the day, the Gold Award Take Action Project video, Senator Arthur’s keynote and our Inspire a Girl wrap-up video!

We want to hear how you were inspired at Inspire a Girl, so leave us a comment below!

SAVE THE DATE! Next year’s Inspire a Girl will be March 29, 2020!

March 10 – 16, 2019

Whether you’re a Girl Scout alum, a current member, a dedicated volunteer, or you simply have an extraordinary Girl Scout in your life, you’re an important part of the Girl Scout family. And you know what families do together? Celebrate!

Girl Scout Week is definitely something to celebrate—seven straight days to show off your Girl Scout pride and lift up all that this worldwide sisterhood has given you, your community, and the world. Join us in treating each day from Sunday, March 10, through Saturday, March 16, as a day of action focused on a powerful yet simple way to get involved.

Sunday, March 10
Girl Scout Sunday is a special day dedicated to thinking about your beliefs and how they’re reflected in the Girl Scout Law.

Monday, March 11
STEM Day is the day we celebrate everything cool about science, technology, engineering & math. Try out one of our STEM activities or show us how you celebrate STEM.

Tuesday, March 12
It’s Girl Scouts’ 107th birthday! Learn about G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders) who are Girl Scouts who changed or are changing the world.  

Wednesday, March 13
Get out your green gear—it’s Girl Scout Spirit Day! Girls, wear that sash / vest or fave t-shirt. And adults, whether you sport a Girl Scout tee under a blazer at the office or rock a trefoil sweatshirt at the gym, let everyone know you’re a G.I.R.L. at heart. 

Thursday, March 14
Daisy’s Circle Day! Philanthropy supports Girl Scouting across our 47 counties. If you are a member, wear your Daisy’s Circle pin and ask someone to join you as a member. If you’re new to Daisy’s Circle, consider joining this powerful circle on this special day of Standing Up for G.I.R.L.s! 

Friday, March 15
Take Action Day! Kick off the weekend by giving back to your community. Could the local park use a cleanup? Does the food bank need volunteers? As always, the best person for the job is a Girl Scout! 

Saturday, March 16
Girl Scout Sabbath – Besides reflecting on your beliefs and how they’re echoed in the Girl Scout Law, we urge you to take some time this Girl Scout Sabbath to learn something new about someone else’s faith.  So, are you with us? Ready to go green and shout your Girl Scout love from the rooftops? Follow along on Instagram,Twitter, and Facebook for more fun all week long. (Link to our social media)

Looking for a special Girl Scout Week keepsake? Check out the 2019 Girl Scout Memorabilia in the Girl Scout Shop. 

A Check-In with Girl Scout Alum Allison Jones

If you’ve been to a show at the Kansas City Zoo, odds are you’ve seen Girl Scout Alum and Lifetime member, Allison Jones!  This show stopping Girl Scout has found a way to blend performance art with science. Working both as a professional actress and as an Education Instructor at the Kansas City Zoo, Allison has found a way to incorporate two worlds in her career.

Allison started Girl Scouts as a Girl Scout Daisy in St. Louis, MO and moved to Lee’s Summit, MO in 2^nd grade where she joined Troop 1609. “When we moved to Kansas City, my Girl Scout experience shifted to being very service oriented,” Allison said. As part of this focus on service, she earned her Silver Award by leading a Toys for Tots collection drive.

Growing up in Girl Scouts, Allison learned a diverse set of skills, including how to use her voice and the magic of science. It started with a normal Girl Scout activity – being at camp. “I played outside as a kid, but there was something different about Girl Scout camp. Being around the woods and animals and water and mysterious things in the dirt was so inspiring for me,” Allison said. She went on to become a counselor, helping other girls learn about nature and science.

The other Girl Scout activity that inspired a love of science was a program called “INVENTure University” where Girl Scouts were challenged to invent something. “The program lasted a week and we stayed at Rockhurst University in the dorms. We had a week to invent, build and present something. My invention was a peanut butter jar you could open from both ends,” Allison said.

While Girl Scouts helped develop her love of science, it was a family trip to Sea World where Allison saw trainers working with animals and knew that’s what she wanted to do. From there, she went to the Alabama A&M University to study Biology. While there, she got back to her Girl Scout roots by helping lead a local troop during her junior year of college.

Since graduating, Allison has been working at the Kansas City Zoo and proudly representing what it means to be a Girl Scout! In the past few years, she also started her acting career and has been cast in professional shows around KC, including lead roles in Once On This Island with Spinning Tree Theatre and My Fair Lady with Girl Scout Community Partner, Musical Theatre Heritage. She’s currently performing in the Quartet in A Christmas Carol with the Kansas City Reparatory Theatre.

When presenting for the Kansas City Zoo, Allison sees the biggest crossover of arts skills in science. “Every animal has a story, so it’s fun when you can make their story animated and fun for kids,” Allison said. On stage, Allison uses her experience training animals to sometimes get co-stars to cooperate “as far as science in the arts goes…positive reinforcement works for people too!” Allison said.

This woman in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) believes that it’s important to have girls represented in the diverse fields of science. “Girls need to understand that science is more than medical school, labs and engineering. There are so many facets of science and we need diverse thinkers to create science. We wouldn’t have the science we have now without diversity,” Allison said.

One of the things she loves most about presenting for the zoo and doing “talk backs” (after performance Q&A opportunities with actors and the audience) is being able to represent women of color in both arenas. Whether she’s the lead in a musical or presenting an animal, it’s important to her that girls see themselves represented in various careers.

Thank you, Allison for showing what it means to be a versatile and talented G.I.R.L.! Learn more about Girl Scout STEAM opportunities by visiting www.gsksmo.org!

Spotlight on Girl Scout Alum Angela Bennett

Leadership in action – that’s what living a G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)TM life is all about. Meet Girl Scout Alum, former GSKSMO board member and member of Daisy’s Circle and the Juliette Gordon Low Society, Angela Bennett! This Girl Scout has been a leader in the KC community for years, serving on boards around the city, becoming the first black attorney at her law firm and as a Regional Director of the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Now retired, Angela is dedicated to improving her community through volunteerism!

Angela Bennett was raised in Kansas City, MO and started Girl Scouts in second grade. She remembers her first overnight campout was at Camp Timberlake and from her 2nd year of Girl Scouts on, she attended Camp Oakledge, well into her high school years. At camp, Angela learned critical networking and relationship building skills that would help her in future careers.

“When I was at camp, I had the opportunity to meet new people. I met girls from other communities that I wasn’t always exposed to and that was a good experience,” Angela said. Attending camp in the mid-1960s meant Angela was sometimes faced with racial prejudice, but at camp, she found those stereotypes and prejudices changed by the end of resident camp more often than not. That’s the power of getting girls together in a common activity away from the city and societal pressures – they can learn about one another in a safe space.

Beyond camping, Angela learned business skills through the Cookie Program. Her leader, Connie, made a large impact on her life and helped motivate her to succeed in the Cookie Program. “Our living room would be filled with cookie boxes before we could deliver them,” Angela said. These skills translated into adulthood as Angela attended UMKC for undergrad and Law School!

After graduating law school, Angela Bennett worked in a variety of occupations, blazing trails along the way. She served in the County Council office, worked for the Missouri Attorney General in the Consumer Protection division, in Army Corp of Engineers and Lathrop Gage. “I went to law school because I wanted to help people. My parents and Girl Scouts instilled in me a strong sense of giving back, so that’s always been important in my career,” Angela said.

With that motivation to give back, Angela accepted a position as the Regional Director of the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and served in that role for 17 years before retiring in 2014. In this role she was able to make a major impact on the lives of children in the education system. She also served on the Board of Curators for University of Missouri system. When you talk about a Girl Scout giving back through life, Angela Bennett is a prime example of leadership in volunteerism!

Her devotion to Girl Scouts remained strong well into adulthood. She served on the GSKSMO Board of Directors in the early 1990s learned a lot about the organization. “Being on the Board was a good experience because I got to learn about the needs of the organization,” Angela said. She was also actively involved in the 75th Girl Scout anniversary celebration, working to find local Girl Scout alums to attend and bringing out memorabilia like her “lemy stick” and Girl Scout Brownie Book!

She has continued to invest in Girl Scouts because of the positive experiences she had as a girl and because she knows that it helps build girls for a better future. “Giving to Girl Scouts is one of the best ways to support girls as they grow to become contributing members of society,” Angela said.

Thank you to Angela Bennett for not only investing in girls, but for being a strong example of the type of woman Girl Scouts helps empower! Learn more about the Juliette Gordon Low Society and Daisy’s Circle to give back like Angela.

Man enough to lead a Service Unit! Meet Jason Sonderman, an exceptional Girl Scout dad who’s taken his leadership to the next level as Service Unit Manager for SU607. Growing in leadership just like his Girl Scout Junior daughter, Riley, Jason has gone from parent volunteer to Appreciation Pin honoree to Service Unit Manager and member of Daisy’s Circle! Talk about some serious G.I.R.L. dedication!

Jason started like most Girl Scout parents – new and unsure where volunteering would take him. When Riley was a Daisy, her mother, Micah, became the co-leader and Jason found himself picking up a variety of tasks. “It took 3-4 years for me to find my place in volunteering outside of building things and helping with carpools. Around Brownies I started finding a need in Day Camp and a place to help,” Jason said.

He found a love of working at Day Camp and started coming a couple days a week to help with the cooking program. With the guidance of fellow volunteers, he found his stride and started feeling confident in his leadership. “Working a Day Camp really opened my eyes to how parents can get involved,” Jason said. He served as unit leader for 2 years, then took over the cooking program.

To put a personal touch on his Day Camp leadership, he developed a persona named “Cookie.” “Cookie is larger than life and memorable,” Jason said. Together, Riley and Jason worked on the cooking program and as she grew as a leader, he felt pride and was even more motivated to be involved.

During cookie booth season, parents were talking about the Service Unit Manager position that was opening up. While there was a lot of interest, Jason joked about putting his hat in the ring and no one thought it was a joke, in fact, they thought it’d be great. “When no one laughed, I was surprised, but when we talked about it, it just made sense. I don’t lead a troop, so I don’t have other things vying for my attention, I can just focus on the service unit,” Jason said.

As a dad, he knows he’s in the minority as a male volunteer, but thinks that makes his service important so both genders are being represented in the organization. “Girl Scouts needs to see both genders represented as volunteers and in leadership to help them understand life outside as well as see both parents just giving back,” Jason said. Throughout all of it, the best part of giving back is being part of the Girl Scout world with Riley and Micah.

“Girl Scouts gives me something to do with my daughter and wife. I understand it, I can be engaged and participate rather than it just being their thing,” Jason said. He and Micah love the program because of the opportunities it provides for Riley.

Riley has developed her own way of expression, giving back and leadership through filming Day Camps and creating recruitment videos for them, as well as helping with the cooking program. “Girl Scouts is a full environment where girls can build a sisterhood and at the same time, learn things. They’re learning about life, leadership, and skills they’ll need to excel in our society and be respected,” Jason said.

The Sondermans not only give of their time, they give financially through Daisy’s Circle as well. “In our hearts, giving follows our faith and my wife and I have that extra amount to give to help someone be involved. We can help remove the barrier of maybe a $25 membership fee that might be preventing a girl from having this experience,” Jason said.

We thank the Sonderman family for giving so fully to Girl Scouts and believing in the power of all G.I.R.L.s. We are thrilled to see Riley grow her skills and become the best G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) she can be! If you’d like to learn more about Daisy’s Circle, visit www.daisyscircle.org.